Firearm barrel latch



May 26, 1959 J. w. NORMAN FIREARM BARREL LATCH Filed May 28, 1957 United States Pate FIREARM BARREL LATCH Joseph W. Norman, Springfield, Mass., assignor to Smith and Wesson Inc., Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 28, 1957, Serial No. 662,170

1 Claim. (Cl. 42-75) In the art of firearms, particularly pistols, it is desirable to make the barrel readily detachable for various purposes and many schemes have been devised to this end. However they have not been satisfactory for various reasons, chiefly because they are diflicult to operate or do not hold the barrel securely.

Objects of the present invention are to provide means for detachably holding a barrel on the frame of a firearm which is simple and economical in construction, which can be operated quickly and easily, which is completely concealed within the frame and which is durable and reliable in use.

According to the present invention the barrel has recesses facing forwardly and rearwardly and the frame has an abutment extending into one of the recesses, with a latch movably mounted in the frame to move into the other recess and cam means for forcing the latch into its recess. Preferably the latch means includes a heavy spring for forcing the latch into its recess and a cam for tensioning the spring. In the preferred embodiment the trigger guard is pivotally mounted near its rear end so that its rear end tensions the spring when the guard is swung to closed position and relieves the tension when swung to open position. While the spring may operate on the latch directly, preferably it operates through a cam plunger. In the preferred embodiment the aforesaid recesses are located on the forward and rearward ends of a lug depending from the barrel.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a firearm with parts broken away and parts omitted;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the rear end of the barrel;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 1 showing the trigger guard in open position and the barrel removed; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a frame F, a barrel B, a trigger T, a trigger bar S and a trigger guard G. The trigger is pivotally mounted in the frame by means of a pin 1 extending through the sides of the frame F and across the gap therebetween. Extending longitudinally of the forearm along the upper side of the ing lug 6Q With the transmitter in the rearward position shown in Fig. 1 the distance between the pin 1 and the transmitter in an intermediate position the spring trigger is a guideway 2 the bottom of which is disposed somewhat below the pin 1. Slidably mounted in the guideway is a transmitter 3, on the upper side of which is a series of recesses 4 shaped to fit the trigger pivot pin so that, by removing the pin, the transmitter may be shifted to any one of various positions as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The rear end of the transmitter is provided with an upstanding lug 6. Mounted on a pin 7 is a leaf spring 8 having its rearward end coiled around the pin 7 and its forward end bearing on the upstandhas an intermediate effect. By partially removing the pin 1 the transmitter may be shifted from one position to another. This spring adjustment is described and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 662,194 filed on even date herewith.

According to the present invention the barrel B has a depending lug 11 with recesses 12 and 13 on its forward and rearward faces (Fig. 2). Extending into the forward recess is the abutment portion 14 of the frame and seating in the rearward recess is a latch 15 pivoted on the aforesaid pin 7. The latch is held in the locking position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a plunger 16, coil spring 18, a pin 19 having a head 20 and the trigger guard G which is pivotally mounted on the frame by means of a pin 21 and has a nose 22 hearing on the head 20. The forward end of the guard has a lug 24 extending into an opening 25 in the frame F.

With the trigger guard in the closed position shown in Fig. l the nose 22 forces the pin 19 upwardly to compress the spring 18, thereby forcing the latch 15 into latching position through the medium "of the plunger 16, the nose 22 functioning as a cam. When the trigger guard is swung to the open position shown in Fig. 4 the nose 22 slides 01f the head 20 permitting the pin 19 to move downwardly with its head 20 dropping into the recess 25' of the trigger guard. To mount the barrel on the frame the lug 11 is inserted into the frame, the barrel is moved forwardly until the abutment 14 seats in the forward recess 12 and the trigger guard is then swung to closed position to press the latch 15 into the rearward recess 13. Thus the barrel may be quickly and easily removed merely by swinging the trigger guard to open position and then lifting the barrel from the frame.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A firearm comprising a frame, a trigger on the frame, a barrel detachably mounted on the frame, a lug depending from the barrel over the trigger, the lug having recesses in its forward and rearward ends, the frame having an abutment extending into the forward recess, a'

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 572,290 Clement Dec. 1, 1896 978,415 Wmson Dec. 13, 1910 1,041,928 Wesson Oct. 22, 1912 1,427,413 Pieper Aug. 29, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS 28,044 France Sept. 2, 1924 

